Baseball opens today

KVL champs are Lions’ first test

Lansing High baseball coach Terry Stueve knows Mill Valley isn't the same powerhouse this year that it was in 2004.

Stueve knows this Mill Valley squad is far different from the one that won the Kaw Valley League title last year and lost just two league games - including one to Lansing.

He also knows Mill Valley has played three games this year, which is three more than Lansing has played. The Jaguars are 1-2 during that span, but at least they've played. LHS was supposed to open its season last Thursday, but the contest at Atchison was rescheduled for May 6 because the field still was under construction.

Instead, the Lions will open their season at 4 p.m. today against Mill Valley in a double-header at the 3&2 baseball complex at the intersection of 83rd Street and Kansas Highway 7.

"Most schools have played at least three games by now, whereas we're playing our first game on Thursday," Stueve said. "That worries me a little bit."

Stueve said his nerves have been calmed a bit because he has been encouraged by his team's progress during the past week. The pitching has shown improvement, and the bats have remained hot.

"We're still hitting the ball well in practice, so that's encouraging," he said. "But defensively we're still having some mental breakdowns with fielding ground balls and fly balls. We're still struggling with that, which is going to happen early on."

Stueve said he expected junior right-hander Chris Wagner (2.26 ERA last year) to start on the mound for game one, and either junior Cody Mohan or junior Jeff Terrill likely would start game two.